1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to improvements in traps for small animals in the form of a cage structure for trapping and holding, without harming, the animal whereby the animal can be relocated to another area. More particularly, the invention relates to spring and gravity actuated closure arrangements for use in such cage structures.
2. Description of Prior Art
Animal traps comprising a cage of metal mesh and constructed with locking means for locking a trap door in a closed position are known. The animal trap typically includes a tripping mechanism that is tripped when the animal is lured into the cage to obtain bait placed therein and operates to cause the trap door to move between an open position and into a closed position. A locking mechanism cooperates to releasably lock the trap door in the closed position.
In some animal traps, the trap door falls by gravity and into engagement with a lock member to ensure that the door does not open and allow the trapped animal to escape. These traps are simple in operation and construction.
However, since animal traps are typically placed outside and are subject to the environment, they can rust or otherwise be subject to mud or other material. A trap door that relies solely on gravity to move into its closed position might have to rely on its ability to overcome the problems associated with its prolonged exposure to the environment and may not close at all or only partially, thereby permitting the animal to escape from the cage.
To overcome certain problems associated with the environment, some animal traps have arranged springs and linkage rods together with one another and with the trap door whereby to positively bias the trap door into the closed position or a latch member into a locked relation with the trap door. Depending on the spring and trap door arrangement, a biased trap door could close about and harm the animal.
There is always a need for improvement in animal traps that enable a small animal to be trapped without harm.
An object of this invention is the provision of an animal trap that enables small animals to be safely trapped in a cage for relocation to another place.
Another object of this invention is an animal trap having an improved closure, tripping and locking means for containing an animal that enters the trap.
Still another object of this invention is the provision of an animal trap for small animals, the trap including a simple yet effective tripping mechanism that is actuated by the animal entering the trap.
According to a first embodiment of this invention there is provided an animal trap including a tripping mechanism operably connected to a spring-loaded closure structure that cooperates with a trap door to provide positive and rapid snap closure of the trap door without harming the animal. In particular, the animal trap comprises:
a cage having a top, a bottom, a back, and side walls of mesh or like material, the side walls joining the top, bottom, and back walls whereby to form an enclosure having a front opening enterable by an animal,
a trap door having a top edge portion hingedly affixed to the top of the cage and a bottom edge portion, said trap door being rotatable between a raised cage open position permitting entry into the cage and into a lowered cage closed position wherein the trap door is in covering relation with the front opening, this door being sized substantially equal to the size of the first opening;
a trip lever hingedly affixed to the cage and disposed within the enclosure, the trip lever being tripped by an animal trying to get to bait in the back of the cage;
a trip rod rotatably mounted to said cage and including a catch member for engaging and maintaining the trap door in the raised cage open position,
a linkage structure connecting the trip rod to the trip lever, and
a spring operated locking structure for biasing the trap door from said raised position and toward said lowered position and releasably maintaining the trap door in the lowered cage closed position,
whereby movement of the trip lever is transmitted by the linkage structure to the trip rod causing the trip rod to rotate and the catch member to be dislodged from its engagement with the trap door whereupon gravity and the spring operated locking structure act to drive the trap door into closing relation with the front opening.
The spring operated locking structure comprises a brace member having a first end portion hingedly connected to the trap door proximate to the bottom edge portion thereof and a second end portion, a spring member connecting the bottom edge portion of the trap door to the brace member, and a catch member proximate to the top of the cage for engaging the second end portion of the brace member. In the lowered cage closed position, the free end of the brace member positions the hinged end thereof so as to drive the bottom edge portion of the trap door downwardly and into the cage closed position.
Preferably, the cage includes a front wall of mesh or like material and is provided with a central opening for the animal to enter, the front wall being adapted to be covered by the trap door when in the lowered cage closed position. Preferably, the front wall is disposed at an acute angle to the bottom wall, generally between about 40xc2x0-60xc2x0 thereto. In a particular embodiment, the front wall is at about 45xc2x0 to the bottom wall and forms the hypotenuse of a 45xc2x0 right triangle.
In the raised cage open position, the brace member is folded onto the trap door and disposed between the trap door and the top wall of the cage. The second end of the brace member abuts the top wall and cooperates with the spring member (and gravity) to force the brace member and trap door downwardly and away from the top wall of the cage. Substantially simultaneously with release of the trap door, the force of gravity pulls the trap door downwardly, and the spring pulls the brace member away from its overlapped relation with the trap door. The spring forces the free end of the brace member against the top wall of the cage and into engagement with the catch member, the free end acting to drive the trap door (to which the hinged end of the brace member is connected) downwardly.
In the lowered cage closed position, the brace member and the trap door are at an acute angle to one another. The brace member has its second end portion positioned against the top wall and its first edge portion forcing the trap door into the closed position.
According to a second embodiment of this invention there is provided an animal trap including tripping and locking mechanisms operably connected to a closure structure that includes a trap door which operates under gravity to move between a raised position (generally parallel to the top wall of the cage) and to a lowered position (generally vertically extending between the top and bottom walls) to provide positive and rapid closure of the trap door without harming the animal. Similar to the first embodiment, the animal trap of this embodiment comprises a generally rectangularly configured cage comprised of walls of mesh-like construction or material otherwise apertured and having a front opening by which an animal can enter the cage to get to bait in the back of the enclosure.
More particularly, the animal trap of this embodiment comprises:
a pair of laterally spaced parallel guide posts, the posts extending vertically between the top and bottom walls proximate to the open front of the cage,
a trap door hingedly affixed to the top of the cage at the front thereof and movable between raised and lowered positions, the trap door having a bottom edge adapted to be proximate to the top and bottom walls, respectively, when the trap door is in the raised and lowered positions, respectively,
a guide collar connected to the trap door and to the guide posts, the guide collar being mounted to the guide posts for movement relative thereto and between said positions and locking the trap door in the lowered position,
a lock wheel for releasably holding the guide collar in the raised position and the trap door proximate to the top wall of the cage, the lock wheel being rotatable from a holding position for holding the guide collar in the raised position to a releasing position for releasing the guide collar and trap door,
a tripper mechanism responsive to the animal entering the cage and operable to release the lock wheel for rotation between said holding and releasing positions, and
a resetting mechanism for resetting the trap door in the raised position, the resetting mechanism including at least a portion of said guide collar acting on said lock wheel to rotate said lock wheel into the holding position.
A feature of this invention is an animal trap comprised of screen, open mesh, expanded metal and the like construction, which enables wind to pass through without the cage tumbling and allows the bait to be seen and detected by an animal.
Another feature of this invention is an animal trap which efficiently and safely captures small animals, such as rats, skunks, raccoons and other varmints or the like, for relocation.
A desirable feature of the gravity operated and/or spring assisted animal cages described herein above is the simplicity of design, trap setting, ease of animal release, and trap resetting. In a first embodiment, re-setting is staged by the brace member being disengaged and folded over onto the trap door and the combination snapped into the raised position. In a second embodiment, the cage is merely turned 180xc2x0 over onto itself, causing the guide collar which is coupled to the trap door, to move the trap door back to the raised position and lockingly engage with a lock member.
For a more complete understanding of the invention, reference is made to the following detailed description and accompanying drawings. In the drawings, like reference characters refer to like parts throughout the several views in which: